The Hurry Up is your nightcap of Ohio State recruiting news, catching you up on the day’s events with an ear on the ground for what’s next.
BUCKEYES HAD–THEN ALMOST LOST–JORDAN FULLER
On Monday night, the Buckeyes landed one of their biggest–and longest recruited–prospects of the 2016 recruiting cycle. Jordan Fuller, a four-star defensive back from New Jersey, was a player that many people thought would be a Buckeye for a long time, but the decision for the Westwood resident wasn't easy.
"My TTUN visit was really nice," Fuller said, admitting that after he visited Ohio State on Jan. 15 he felt pretty sure the Buckeyes would be his choice. "It had me wavering (laughs). Their academics are really good, so that was really appealing and the campus was really nice. Plus, obviously there is great tradition there and a dynamic head coach with a staff that had coached in the league."
So when did he know officially he was a Buckeye? Less than 24 hours before his commitment video was released.
"Sunday," Fuller said when asked when the choice was finalized. "(I called) Urban Meyer first, and then I called Greg Schiano and Kerry Coombs after. They were really happy. I scared them a little bit though (laughs). I was supposed to call them like an hour before I did with my decision but I decided to really, really make sure I was positive. So they were stressing for that extra hour I think."
What was the final piece of the puzzle for Fuller? As usual, it came down to the strength of the relationships he had with the men who are being entrusted with his future.
"(Ohio State) is just where I'm most comfortable," he said. "I trust the coaches and the program a lot. More than I trust any other one."
BOSA HAPPY TO BE NEXT FROM ST. THOMAS HEADING TO COLUMBUS
You may not know that our old 11W colleague, the always perfectly coiffed Patrick Maks, is now covering high school sports down in Florida at the Sun-Sentinel. Wednesday, Maks was at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, where Nick Bosa signed his letter of intent.
From Patrick Maks:
"It’s been an easy (process) for me because since my freshman year, when (Buckeyes) coach (Urban) Meyer offered me on my birthday, I pretty much knew this is where I was going to go,” Bosa said.
“I looked at my options and my mind really never got changed throughout this whole process. So for me it’s been easy.”
In his story, Maks notes that it was just four years ago that it was Nick watching his brother Joey become an official Buckeye. Wednesday, while training in Florida for the upcoming NFL Draft, Joey made sure he was on-hand to return the favor.
One last #NSD2016 image before I really end the night. For the #Buckeyes fans out there.
— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) February 4, 2016
\_()_/ > \_()_/ pic.twitter.com/hACbXbUeSB
Speaking on the five-star defensive end, Urban Meyer, at Wednesday's press conference in the team meeting room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, extended an open offer to the Bosa family if they decide to keep growing.
"He had the knee injury but he's well ahead of schedule," Meyer said of Bosa. "(He) Looks fantastic. He's a little ahead of his brother at this time. That's a standing offer for the Bosa family if they decide to have more children along their journey, they have a scholarship offer."
COOMBS WILL NOT CHANGE HIS APPROACH IN MICHIGAN
While Kerry Coombs was a late-addition to the recruitment of Jordan Fuller, he's been instrumental to the Buckeyes' recent success in Michigan. Since 2014, when cornerback Damon Webb committed, Ohio State has been a welcomed visitor in Michigan high schools and a hefty percentage of that is because of Coombs.
In the 2016 cycle, Coombs (and Ed Warinner) reeled in Michigan's top offensive tackle (Michael Jordan) and he's already hard at work in 2017 and beyond. The Buckeyes are squarely in the mix–if not the leader–for four-star prospects like Jaylen Kelly-Powell and Antjuan Simmons despite the decade-long ascension of Michigan State and the rebirth of Michigan under Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh's methods/antics/approach or whatever you want to call it, has certainly turned a lot of heads, and the Buckeyes have, of course, taken note.
"Anytime you're recruiting against people," Coombs told the media on signing day. "Especially when you go into another state to recruit against people, you're going to have to evaluate how they do their business. The guys that have been at the Green Team have done things a certain way and now those guys at The Team Up North have changed some of their habits."
That said, it doesn't appear that Coombs has any plans to change his own style in Michigan.
"The main thing for us is not really to concern ourselves as much with our opponents as with the kids we're recruiting and what we have to sell," he added. "When you have a great product like we have, I don't think it matters the style or substance of how somebody else is recruiting. We've done very well (in Michigan) and we're going to continue to do very well there."
HANSARD WILL BE A TOP TARGET IN 2017
One of the top 2017 targets on campus last weekend for the Buckeyes was Fred Hansard. Hansard, a defensive tackle from Princeton, New Jersey, who was offered by Ohio State last May, has visited Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan among others, but the trip to Columbus is one he'd been waiting for some time to make.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder said the trip was a memorable one.
"The trip was great," Hansard told 11W. "It was great. The coaches and the atmosphere really stood out."
Hansard, who's added offers from Texas A&M, Cal and Ole Miss in recent days, hopes to get back to Ohio State this spring or summer.
It's been real Columbus, there's nothing like OSU, I'll be back soon !!! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NKH5jHHU0k
— Fred Hansard (@Fred_Hansard56) January 31, 2016
He's been an important target for the Buckeyes in recent weeks, Ed Warinner has been to the Hun School multiple times in January and Greg Schiano spent time with him during his trip for Junior Day.
O RLY WORLDWIDE LEADER?
One of the underrated aspects of Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class, as pointed out by Le Swaggernaut, was this:
Fact of the day: 17/25 of our signees were committed before November. All 17 remained loyal and never visited another school.
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) February 3, 2016
That level of "commitment" it takes–from a player and a coaching staff–to maintain a relationship at that level for a year or longer is impressive. There are so many schools and coaches that come knocking, offering different experiences that, even if completely innocuous, can be incredible for a high school athlete. That so many of Ohio State's 2016 commitments had no interest at all speaks volumes about how deeply those kids love the program and how connected they were to the coaching staff.
So, take that level of commitment, the kind that keeps kids committed for a year or six months or three months without visiting another school, and amplify it by a lot.
Then you have Danny Clark.
Despite the fact that Clark has been committed since December (of 2013!!), the fact that he lists no offers from other schools, the fact that he's never visited another school and the little matter of the enormous Block 'O' tattoo on his arm, ESPN listed Clark as a "soft commit" in an article previewing the 2017 class yesterday.
Sources: Danny Clark is not interested in any other school, period.
Unless ESPN's recruiting writers have a completely different definition of what a "soft commit" is than most, this was just a simple mistake or a gross display of misinformation to try and stir the pot. Let's hope it's the former.